Shall we Flock?

I was playing Scrabulous and happened to notice an ad for Flock. The ad had a nice look-and-feel - I'm a sucker for representative icons - and it quickly became clear that for those of us who buy-into the pulling power of social networking/sharing sites the Flock browser is a pretty exciting development because it aggregates services like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, blogger, WordPress, del.icio.us and Mag.nolia. Flock's flockers argue that "The more you use these key services that Flock supports, the better your [Flock] experience will be."

The privacy policy and terms of service stack-up in terms of openness and transparency, with some opt-outs. It's also been validated by commentators and Masheable's open web awards.

So I'm looking forward to engaging with this browser, to tie my use of YouTube, Blogger, Facebook and MySpace together into a Personalised Social Environment, and to test out Flock's claims that: "Flock makes sure you don't miss a thing. Be informed when:

• Your friends post photos or videos;
• Your favorite sites update content; and
  
• You have new messages and site notifications"

Me, Myself, and iPhone

In a previous post, our Steve (MacKenzie) linked to a thoroughly enjoyable article: Why I Miss My iPhone, and Why You Should Care by Steve Hargon. In the article, Steve M commented on something that I've also been thinking of for sometime now here in Staff Training & Development - to trial loaning devices loaded with learning/training material and factor the cost in fees or some sort of partnership with corporations. Device compatibility has always been a major issue in Information Technology with the dissemination of e-learning material, so how about removing this major obstacle by loaning out these portable devices, which have been configured to work seamlessly with out Information Systems. The NHS and Home Office has trialled similar initiatives and seem to have had some positive feedback. Perhaps, by following suit we (DMU) may be able to reach to those members of Staff that find it next to impossible to find time or embarrassing to attend training sessions, and instead tune into the content whilst commuting. Distant-learners or disadvantaged students who may find it difficult to purchase these devices would find loaned devices useful too. Would this not, I ask, be supporting learning through technologies?

Going back to the iPhone, I, like others have been excited at the prospects of the iPhone since Steve Jobs announced the 'revolutionary' device at his Keynote speech early last year. Last week I was fortunate enough to get my hands on one, and after a weekend I was totally hooked. I used to be a mobile phone sales person for some years during my student days; and let me tell you people, this is seriously one awesome device. Never have I experienced the feeling of total portability in any device including my previous Nokia 9300 (a very good Symbian powered device, however mine lacked wi-fi, a later model - the 9300i - has wi-fi).

The iPhone, like many new devices, has many glitches or things you can't do, however these weaknesses also plays to it strengths: Apple pledges commitment to continue developing and subsequently deploy updates through iTunes. A few weeks ago, Apple did as they promised, and there was an update issued with several features tinkered with and added. An unfinished product some may argue, who cares if it's going to be done eventually, previously you were stuck with the bugs on a mobile phone and had to painfully live with them until your annual upgrade.

So in effect I have a device that will continue to evolve and become better than what it is over time. Of course there will be another incarnation but I suspect not for another 6-12 months here in the UK. Judging from the series of iPods and other devices the successor will probably be slimmer, with better hardware and features, which in my mind would justify an upgrade, although I'd welcome a smaller price tag.

Now I know many people have and will continue to grumble at calling the iPhone - revolutionary, but if we look back at the history of the mp3 player that Apple brought in - the iPod, and see how it has liberated in the way people listen to audio and how it presented new dimensions to listening to programmes (i.e podcasts), then it's revolutionary effects to society becomes apparent. A whole industry has formed around one device - the iPod, with major players like Nike, Bose, Belkin and more making accessories specifically for iPods. I can't think of any portable device creating such interest as the iPod has.

Now the iPhone has already spurred other manufacturers to scramble to follow suit (e.g. LG viewty etc), and it's not just mobile phones, but other devices too, and even the mighty Google see's a future in similar 'gesture-based' devices with it's Android project. Remember folks,this is Jobs second bash at a portable touch screen device. The first was Newton which flopped miserably, probably because the average consumer wasn't ready. SJ has had much time to mull over things, 'to get it right'. iPhones are here to stay and it's market is steadily increasing (according to SJ's keynote it already trails the popular Blackberry in the US).

If prices drop then I can see it as a major contender for students and staff to access their learning as it has an iPod already built-in. I'm also hoping that there will be educational rebates to discount the price soon, to enable both students and staff to be able to afford one. Currently one retails for a whopping £269, plus you are tied down to an 18 month contract at £35 per month - the iPhone doesn't come cheap.

Last week I attended the Learning Technologies conference in London UK, and in one of the sessions - the former Vodafone Director of Global Learning Management Gordon Bull was talking of the prospects of m-learning but conceded that it was perhaps 2-3 years away because
of issues with infrastructure (lack of super Internet Speeds) and devices (compatibility and not being able to access webpages properly), towards the end of his lecture he added that if anything that came close to the m-learning reality at this moment in time would be [for students] to be equipped with the iPhone.

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E-Learning Conference-University of Ulster

Richard has already mentioned here some key points which I raised in my main report on the Pathfinder wiki in relation to Web 2.0 technologies and teaching and learning at DMU.

This was my preamble to that report about what was an informative and inspirational conference.

I attended The University of Ulster’s sixth annual all-Ireland e-learning conference which was held held at the Jordanstown campus on Thursday 17th January 2008.

The aim of the conference was to raise awareness of the benefits of using on-line technologies in teaching, learning and assessment. The conference addressed themes associated with the creation, support and development of an e-learning community, with particular emphasis on the impact of e-learning.

This conference was a pleasure to intend. Most of the delegates were from Irish universities and the atmosphere was friendly and the sessions most accessible for the non technically-minded, like me! Speakers were most happy to share ideas and point us towards useful web-links, some of which I am sharing here. I realised that I actually understood virtually all the terminology, even ‘mash-up’, (thanks, Richard!). Also that DMU, unlike quite a few other places, is lucky that it does not bar its staff and students from social-networking sites. Some people reported an arduous process of having to beg access for individual sites; multiply that by goodness knows how many and you get a good idea of how time-consuming a process that must be.

If and when I get access to the slides from this conference, I'll let you know!

'BlackBerry Blackouts' Urged for Work/Life Balance

Sometimes, with all these new technologies vying for my attention I feel swamped on what to spend my time on; FaceBook, Emails, Social Networking sites, VLEs, RSS readers, SMS messages etc. To keep up, what should I do? I can't abandon any but am increasingly spending more of my spare time trying to give each it's due share of my time. A day without visiting these sites or applications I feel a strong urge to find an Internet connection. Am I becoming addicted? Several words have been coined to describe the phenomenon of addiction to certain technologies - crackberry is one, which describes emailing using mobile devices (like the BlackBerry) as being addictive as the narcotic crack. It wont be long that like the Canadian Government (see link below), a directive is issued from our institutions and employers for people to simply just - take it easy.

Should we be then encouraging and expecting our students and staff to be soaking up all these technologies, only for them to become evermore disorientated and addicted. Shouldn't we be investigating the effects of addiction, and perhaps prepare ourselves as an institution (student services or HR) for counselling for addiction to technologies? Should some of our Pathfinder budget (or any future grants) be allocated to such causes?

Does anyone feel the way I do or not?

Mohamed

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It may be wishful thinking, but a Canadian government ministry has sent out a directive to its employees urging them to relax and not to use their BlackBerry smartphones at night or on weekends and holidays.

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mobilicious

Couple of links that suggest maybe that the era of m-learning could be coming of age.

The mobile web takes off
Why i miss my iphone

DMOS Wiki – Ever expanding

Jon P from Data Management writes...
Originally DMOS (Data Management and Operational Service) wanted access to a Wiki so we could put together a knowledge base for the all new HESA2007 return. For previous HESA returns we have relied for documentation on several folders, lots of web sites, many Word documents, Excel and Visio diagrams. A Wiki, we thought, could bring all of the new knowledge together, and make our lives easier. Thanks to Richard we got our wish and we were successfully wiki’d up.

From a slow start we are now all using and adding pages to the HESA area, but things have snowballed. The Wiki has expanded from documenting the HESA return to documenting more of our DMOS processes, including: Training, ADS, QLS V4, Enrolment. I have also now added a DMOS Forum and a DMOS Blog to the Web 2.0 team, but we are yet to really use them in anger.

If that is not enough we have had to change the Area name from DMOS to Registry as the Web 2.0 word has spread, and I have been asked to add Content Areas for the other Registry Departments. Soon there will be wikis for Timetabling, SESD, Exams, Awards and all the other Registry departments. These will go live once I have met with Richard to iron out the House Rules and set up a general Registry Help Forum.

I am expecting there will be lots of imaginative uses of the new resources and I am hoping that being able to involve the whole team in the process of documenting a procedure will draw out not only better documentation but also better procedures.

University of Ulster: Enhancement and Impact

Pam posted some really useful notes from the UU 2008 conference on e-learning to our Pathfinder wiki. I have appended her implications for teaching and learning at DMU herewith...

• If ‘knowledge navigation’ becomes an important ‘new’ skill to be learnt-and taught-will this take precedence over the creating/assimilation/application of of new knowledge.
• What expectations do students come bring to HE regarding mobile learning?
• If we presume that all our students have mobile-phones, how might these be usefully engaged for pedagogic reasons-or should they be?
• It seems to me that we are investigating these tools as a matter of course and that that our Pathfinder Project has helped crystallize debate and opportunities internally.
• We ignore ‘where our students are at’ at our peril.
• To investigate the pedagogical soundness of these tools as we would any other method as regards group, prior experience, context, overall learning aims etc; also as regards resources related to time and environment.
• What tools can support mentoring between international PG students and UK UGs (or PGs if available) for friendship, proof-reading etc.. What role is there for external tools like Facebook? What are thecultural implications of this? (e.g. glaringly in China).